A library for all children

By Isabella Stallworthy and Mara Moettus

One ongoing project of the local nonprofit, Center for Adolescents of San Miguel de Allende (CASA), is the rural library idea that was spearheaded by CASA library coordinator Gabriela Salazar, who has been working at the CASA library for five years. Currently there are 12 libraries in different rural communities, many of which are in communities where other CASA programs also work.

The rural library initiative started off small.

“There were no libraries, no spaces, or anything like that,” Salazar explains. “We started by giving reading lessons in different communities. Then the peer counselors (from another CASA program) brought books with them when they went out to work and loaned them to the children.” Book borrowing quickly became popular and Salazar decided that the children needed a designated space to read. She then brought in a bookshelf and continued to give reading lessons in schools. “But I started noticing problems,” she tells us, “such as distractions in the classroom,” which prompted the creation of spaces specifically for reading and quiet activities.

This proved to be difficult— some schools already had small classrooms that were unoccupied but others needed much more work.

“In some communities, there were already small libraries so we just brought more books and did a little remodeling,” Salazar tells us. Others were not quite as easy. For example, the space in La Regalada needed a floor put in before the library could be created. In Los Juarez, there was no building available to house a library so half of the money for construction was raised by the parents in the community and half was donated by an organization working in San Miguel. According to Salazar, if there is already a space for the library, it costs about 14,000 pesos to pay for books, materials, blackboards, seating, materials for instructors and other essentials such as electricity.

“I want children to have their own space to read, a big space where they can walk in, bring books home, or stay there to read them,” Salazar says. She chose the communities primarily based on necessity. “The communities where we build libraries, these are the most vulnerable. They don’t have government support or help from other institutions.” The town of La Regalada, for example, has a public school run solely by parents who raise funds and do all of the renovations.

When asked about the inspiration for this project, Salazar tells us that it all started at the CASA daycare center. “I noticed while reading and teaching kids how to read that the kids here at CASA were very interested in books.”

Salazar wants to continue improving the libraries that have already been established and to expand her rural library program to other remote communities without access to books. “These are the furthest away, the most vulnerable, and many don’t even have schools.” She also aspires to one day run a mobile library.

“As long as I have the opportunity to teach children to read, who can in turn teach their parents, I will keep doing this work,” Salazar tell us.

If you would like to help with the next library build, donate to fund a rural library, or just know more about the project, contact Antonina Weber at development@casa.org.mx.